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Int J Surg Pathol 2022 Apr 24:10668969221095267. Epub 2022 Apr 24.

Department of Pathology, 2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

. Metastasis to parotid gland occurs mostly from skin cancers of the head and neck region. Metastatic neuroendocrine tumors to the parotid gland are rare and not well studied so far. Read More

Curr Oncol Rep 2022 Apr 8. Epub 2022 Apr 8.

Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Purpose Of Review: The complex and varied drainage patterns in the head and neck present a challenge in the regional control of cutaneous neoplasms. Lymph node involvement significantly diminishes survival, often warranting more aggressive treatment. Here, we review the risk factors associated with lymphatic metastasis, in the context of the evolving role of sentinel lymph node biopsy. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2022 Mar 30;15(3). Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and highly aggressive skin cancer which most commonly occurs on the head and neck. A limited number of cases of MCC of the hand have been reported in the English literature. We describe a case of MCC of the hand in a man in his late 60s. Read More

Head Neck Pathol 2022 Mar 21;16(1):123-142. Epub 2022 Mar 21.

Department of Pathology Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.

This review article provides a brief overview of the new WHO classification by adopting a question-answer model to highlight the spectrum of head and neck neuroendocrine neoplasms which includes epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasms (neuroendocrine tumors and neuroendocrine carcinomas) arising from upper aerodigestive tract and salivary glands, and special neuroendocrine neoplasms including middle ear neuroendocrine tumors (MeNET), ectopic or invasive pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET; formerly known as pituitary adenoma) and Merkel cell carcinoma as well as non-epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasms (paragangliomas). The new WHO classification follows the IARC/WHO nomenclature framework and restricts the diagnostic term of neuroendocrine carcinoma to poorly differentiated epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasms. In this classification, well-differentiated epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasms are termed as neuroendocrine tumors (NET), and are graded as G1 NET (no necrosis and < 2 mitoses per 2 mm; Ki67 < 20%), G2 NET (necrosis or 2-10 mitoses per 2 mm, and Ki67 < 20%) and G3 NET (> 10 mitoses per 2 mm or Ki67 > 20%, and absence of poorly differentiated cytomorphology). Read More

JAMA Dermatol 2022 04;158(4):414-425

Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland.

Importance: Nonkeratinocyte skin cancers are an important cause of morbidity and mortality for immunosuppressed solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs), but the spectrum of disease and risk factor characteristics are unknown.

Objective: To characterize the spectrum of disease and risk factors for common and rare nonkeratinocyte skin cancers in SOTRs.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study included 444 497 SOTRs who underwent a transplant in the US between January 1, 1987, and December 31, 2017, using linked data from the national transplant registry and 32 cancer registries. Read More

Ann Surg Oncol 2022 06 8;29(6):3379-3380. Epub 2022 Mar 8.

Department of Plastic Surgery, Department of Immunology, Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute, Head and Neck Institute, Taussig Cancer Center, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2022 Jan 25:1945998211073707. Epub 2022 Jan 25.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Objective: To describe the clinical and biologic characteristics and outcomes of young and middle-aged (YMA; <65 years) patients according to the presence or absence of traditional risk factors for laryngeal cancer.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort analysis.

Setting: Single-institution academic medical center. Read More

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2021 Dec 1;22(12):3927-3932. Epub 2021 Dec 1.

Cancer Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

Objective: Infection with human tumor viruses is one of the hypothesized causes of cancer. The current investigation aimed to explore the presence and quantitative analysis of a new human tumor virus, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) in tissue samples of 114 patients with oral cavity lesions including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), oral lichen planus (OLP), Dysplasia and oral irritation fibroma (OIF) in Northern Iran.

Methods: From 114 formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples; 35 with SCC, 29 with OLP, 14 with dysplasia and 36 with OIF were cut, deparaffinized and DNA was extracted. Read More

Clin Exp Dermatol 2022 May 22;47(5):833-849. Epub 2022 Feb 22.

Department of Dermatology, Manor Hospital, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Walsall, UK.

Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a precise and effective method commonly used to treat high-risk basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma on the head and neck. Although the majority of evidence for MMS relates to keratinocyte cancers, there is published evidence for other types of skin cancer. This review aims to discuss the evidence for using MMS to treat six different types of skin cancer [malignant melanoma, lentigo maligna, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, atypical fibroxanthoma (AFX), microcystic adnexal carcinoma and pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (PDS)] particularly in the context of survival rates and cancer recurrence. Read More

Dermatol Online J 2021 Sep 15;27(9). Epub 2021 Sep 15.

Department of Dermatology, Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC Department of Dermatology, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC.

Neuroendocrine carcinomas are a rare, heterogenous group of malignancies that arise from neuroendocrine cells throughout the body. Cutaneous metastasis of neuroendocrine carcinoma is uncommon and they can be easily misdiagnosed as benign epidermal cysts or Merkel cell carcinoma. Collectively, histopathology, immunochemical profile, biochemical markers, and nuclear imaging can guide the diagnosis of neuroendocrine metastasis and localization of primary tumors. Read More

Cancer Discov 2022 02 11;12(2):372-387. Epub 2021 Oct 11.

CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

Personalized medicine aims to match the right drug with the right patient by using specific features of the individual patient's tumor. However, current strategies of personalized therapy matching provide treatment opportunities for less than 10% of patients with cancer. A promising method may be drug profiling of patient biopsy specimens with single-cell resolution to directly quantify drug effects. Read More

Tumour Biol 2021 ;43(1):249-259

Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Background: The etiology of salivary gland tumors is mainly unknown. The anatomical location of the salivary glands, with the mucosal pathway to the oral cavity and its rich microbiome, raises the question of potential viral background.

Objective: This study focuses on the potential presence of herpes-, polyoma- and parvoviruses in pleomorphic adenoma (PA), recurrent pleomorphic adenoma (RPA) and carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CaxPA). Read More

Laryngoscope 2022 06 26;132(6):1142-1143. Epub 2021 Aug 26.

Department of Head and Neck Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

J Immunother Cancer 2021 07;9(7)

Division of Dermatology, University of Washington Medical Center at South Lake Union, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Background: Avelumab (anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)) is approved in multiple countries for the treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC), a rare and aggressive skin cancer. We report efficacy and safety data and exploratory biomarker analyses from a cohort of patients with mMCC treated with first-line avelumab in a phase II trial.

Methods: Patients with treatment-naive mMCC received avelumab 10 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks. Read More

Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 2021 10 16;35(5):991-1008. Epub 2021 Jul 16.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, 450 Brookline Avenue, LW503, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address:

Cutaneous malignancies (CMs), or skin cancers, are the most common cancer worldwide, with a quarter million cases diagnosed annually in the United States alone. The best described risk factor for CM is ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, and therefore most of these cancers develop in sun-exposed skin, including the head and neck. Beginning with melanoma, immunotherapy has increasingly been used over the past decade for treatment of unresectable CM, and immune checkpoint inhibitors are now Food and Drug Administration-approved for first-line treatment of unresectable melanoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and second-line for basal cell carcinoma. Read More

Drug Discov Ther 2021 ;15(3):162-165

Department of Dermatology, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.

In the present study, to identify the clinical significance of the cytokeratin (CK) 20 staining pattern in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), we retrospectively analyzed the major clinicopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of 12 cases of MCC. Typical dot-like pattern was seen in eight of our patients, while four patients showed peripheral staining pattern. Interestingly, all cases of MCC with dot-like CK20 tumor cells occurred in the head and neck region, while those with peripheral CK20 pattern tended to be located in other lesions (forearm, knee, or buttock): The difference of frequency in the head and neck regions was statistically significant. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2021 Jun;25(12):4283-4288

Department of Functional Sciences, Physiology, Centre of Immuno-Physiology and Biotechnologies (CIFBIOTEH), "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania.

Objective: The use of current surgical techniques in the management of skin cancers that are not amenable to other treatment options has become the cornerstone of dermatological surgical intervention. Among the many benign lesions and malignant lesions, such as squamous cell carcinomas, melanomas, and Merkel cell carcinomas, the tumors that are commonly excised surgically are the basal cell carcinomas (BCC). Although the majority of BCC lesions spread locally and are rarely metastatic, these lesions may recur, especially, if the excised tissue consists of positive surgical margins. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 17;11:628324. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Medical Oncology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, ENETS Center of Excellence, Milan, Italy.

This case report shows, for the first time, a patient experiencing a complete response after one dose of avelumab following extensive disease progression with prior electrochemotherapy (ECT) treatment. We suggest that ECT may help to establish a tumor microenvironment favorable to immunotherapy. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with seldom durable chemotherapy responses. Read More

J Am Acad Dermatol 2021 09 8;85(3):551-562. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Departments of Dermatology and Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas.

Radiation therapy may be performed for a variety of cutaneous malignancies, depending on patient health status, tumor clinical and histologic features, patient preference, and resource availability. Dermatologists should be able to recognize the clinical scenarios in which radiation therapy is appropriate, as this may reduce morbidity, decrease risk of disease recurrence, and improve quality of life. The second article in this 2-part continuing medical education series focuses on the most common indications for radiation therapy in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, Merkel cell carcinoma, Kaposi sarcoma, angiosarcoma, cutaneous lymphoma, melanoma, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, and sebaceous carcinoma. Read More

Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2022 Mar 3;51(3):314-322. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Scheie Eye Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address:

While Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) of the head and neck is highly malignant, it remains poorly characterized due to its rarity. The purpose of this study was to examine prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in patients with MCC of the head and neck region. The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry was reviewed for patients diagnosed between 1984 and 2016 with histologically confirmed, primary MCC of the head and neck region. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 May 23;22(11). Epub 2021 May 23.

Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.

The association of immune markers and clinicopathologic features and patient outcome has not been extensively studied in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). We correlated tumoral PD-L1 and IDO1 expression, and intratumoral CD8+ and FoxP3+ lymphocytes count with clinicopathologic variables, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) status, and patient outcomes in a series of 132 MCC. By univariate analyses, tumoral PD-L1 expression >1% and combined tumoral PD-L1 >1% and high intratumoral FoxP3+ lymphocyte count correlated with improved overall survival (OS) ( = 0. Read More

Cureus 2021 Apr 21;13(4):e14604. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, USA.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive neuroendocrine tumor that almost always presents as a cutaneous lesion in the sun-exposed areas on the bodies of elderly white males. Metastasis to lymph nodes in the presence or absence of a known primary site and occurrence of these tumors in non-sun-exposed sites have also been described; however, an incidence of recurrent disease arising in the palatine tonsil in the absence of any detectable primary lesion has never been reported in the literature. In this report, we discuss a case of a 72-year-old female who was found to have a single axillary lymph node, which was resected and proved to be positive forMCC of unknown primary (MCCUP). Read More

Cancer Treat Rev 2021 Jun 2;97:102172. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Medical Oncology, Department of Precision Medicine, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy.

Treatment outcomes have improved with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors and small molecule inhibitors. However, many patients do not respond with single agents. Consequently, ongoing research is focused on the use of combination therapies to increase clinical efficacy by potential synergistic effects. Read More

J Invest Dermatol 2021 11 28;141(11):2596-2601.e1. Epub 2021 Apr 28.

Cancer Control Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Electronic address:

Relatively little is known about the epidemiology of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) with regard to international trends in incidence, specifically relating to differences by age, sex, and anatomic site. We examined the trends in sex-specific incidence of MCC in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, and Norway over a 20-year period (1997-2016) as well as the site-specific incidence trends in the United States. We used Joinpoint regression models to estimate the average annual percentage change in the incidence. Read More

Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2021 May;103(5):e159-e164

Castle Hill Hospital, UK.

Submental flap (SF) is a reconstructive technique that can be utilised for reconstruction of medium to large oral cavity defects, head and neck cancer, and pharyngocutaneous fistula. The submental artery island flap is pedicled on the submental artery and veins. The vascular pedicle has a length of up to 8cm. Read More

Ann Surg Oncol 2021 Nov 22;28(12):6995-7003. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Division of Endocrine and Oncologic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is routinely recommended for clinically localized Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC); however, predictors of false negative (FN) SLNB are undefined.

Methods: Patients from six centers undergoing wide excision and SLNB for stage I/II MCC (2005-2020) were identified and were classified as having either a true positive (TP), true negative (TN) or FN SLNB. Predictors of FN SLNB were identified and survival outcomes were estimated. Read More

Ann Surg Oncol 2021 Oct 14;28(11):6154-6165. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA.

Background: Immunosuppression (IS) currently is not considered in staging for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). An analysis of the National Cancer Database (NCDB) was performed to investigate immune status as an independent predictor of overall survival (OS) for patients with MCC and to describe the relationship between immune status and other prognostic factors.

Methods: The NCDB was queried for patients with a diagnosis of MCC from 2010 to 2016 who had known immune status. Read More

J Dermatol 2021 Jul 13;48(7):1027-1034. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Division of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin associated with Merkel cell polyomavirus and immunosuppression. Although MCC incidence is rising worldwide, MCC has not been sufficiently investigated in Japan. This study aimed to determine MCC demographics in Japan, including incidence, age, sex, location, spontaneous regression, and pure/combined MCC. Read More

Orv Hetil 2021 04 10;162(17):676-682. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

6 Semmelweis Egyetem, Általános Orostudományi Kar, I. Sebészeti Klinika, Budapest.

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Régóta ismert, hogy a daganatokhoz társuló emelkedett vérlemezkeszám rosszabb túléléssel társul. Fej-nyak tumoros betegek esetében kevés információ áll rendelkezésünkre ezzel az összefüggéssel kapcsolatban. Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2021 Mar 31;13(7). Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboudumc, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor of the skin mainly seen in the elderly. Its incidence is rising due to ageing of the population, increased sun exposure, and the use of immunosuppressive medication. Additionally, with the availability of specific immunohistochemical markers, MCC is easier to recognize. Read More